Vegas Demons
The '''Vegas Demons '''are a virtual American football team that plays in the United Football League, playing in the Pacific Conference as a member of the Pacific Conference Central Division. The team was formed in 2014 as the Vegas Raiders, but changed their name to the "Demons" following the 2017 UFL Season due to the NFL's Oakland Raiders moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in early 2020. The team has been owned and operated by Rich Humphries since their inception. The Demons have won the league championship once in franchise history in 2016, and have won the Pacific Conference championship twice in both 2016 and 2017. Despite being included into the Pacific Conference Central Division in 2018, the Demons have never won the Pacific Conference Central Division in their history. Since their inception, the Vegas Demons head coach has been former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who has earned a 21-25 record during his tenure as head coach, but has won a league championship and two conference championships during his tenure. During the 2018 UFL offseason, the Demons hired Dixon Caldwell and Luke Manley to serve as the team's Offensive Coordinator and Defensive Coordinator respectively, as well as Alex Hoffman to serve as the team's General Manager. History Vegas Raiders and Early Struggles (2014-2015) Before the start of the UFL's inaugural season, the Raiders hired former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen to serve as the head coach of the team during their formative years. With Clausen involved with running the offense, the Vegas Raiders would select Tarvaris Jackson to play as the starting quarterback of the franchise for their inaugural season in the UFL Quarterback Draft, which would prove to be a costly decision as the team would finish their first season with a league-worst 1-5 record, earning the top pick in the 2015 UFL Draft. With the first pick in the first round of the 2015 UFL Draft, the Raiders would draft Penn State halfback Saquon Barkley to afford Jackson a running game to help move the offense forward going into the franchise's second season in the league. Despite Saquon Barkley providing a performance that would earn him the 2015 UFL Rookie of the Year Award, the Raiders would finish with a 2-4 record to miss the postseason for the second consecutive year. This outcome would prove to be the final straw for the Tarvaris Jackson era in Vegas, as Jackson would be released in favor of drafting Saquon Barkley's former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorely to control the offense going into the 2016 UFL Season. Back to Back League Championship Appearances and Rebranding to the Vegas Demons (2016-2017) Going into McSorely's rookie year with the franchise, the Vegas Raiders would start hot on the season, earning a 3-1 record through the first four weeks of the season before finishing the year with a 4-2 record, good enough to earn the second seed in the Pacific Conference postseason picture, earning the Raiders their first playoff berth in franchise history. Under the McSorely-Barkley combination, the Raiders would defeat the defending league champion Los Angeles Bolts in the Pacific Conference Divisional Round before defeating the top-seeded Arizona Copperheads in the Pacific Conference Championship Game to earn the franchise their first league championship appearance in it's history. The Raiders would then defeat the Atlantic Conference Champion New York Sentinels in the league championship game, earning the franchise their first league championship in the process. Following the team's league championship victory and the announcement of the NFL's Oakland Raiders of their impending relocation to Las Vegas, Nevada, the Vegas Raiders would rebrand themselves to the Vegas Demons in order to avoid a legal battle with the National Football League. Going into the 2017 UFL Season, the Demons were one of the favorite's to return to the league championship, which is exactly what the franchise would do in Trace McSorely's sophomore season as quarterback, earning a league-best 5-1 record in a season that would prove to be a season in which Trace McSorely would win the 2017 UFL MVP Award. The Demons would proceed to defeat the Seattle Avengers in the Pacific Conference Championship Game to earn their second-consecutive trip to the league championship, this time playing the Atlantic Conference champion Connecticut Stampede, who would put up too much of a competition for the Demons to handle, knocking off the Demons a game short from repeating as the league champions, earning the Stampede their second league championship in franchise history. League Championship Hangover and the End of the Trace McSorely era (2018-2019) Despite being predicted to make a third-consecutive league championship game, the Demons would disappoint by finishing the season with a 3-3 record, ending in last place in the Pacific Conference Central Division and missing the postseason completely. Following a regression from the Demons, the following year would see the Demons finish the season with a 6-10 record to miss the postseason for the second consecutive year. Following two disappointing seasons after his MVP Award in 2017, the Demons would allow Trace McSorely to leave the team during the 2019 UFL Free Agency period and use the time to sign former Los Angeles Bolts quarterback Jason Eason to lead the offense for the 2020 UFL Season.